Bridge scoring pad



April 20, 1954 M, E. FRALLIC 2,676,035

BRIDGE SCORING PAD Filed Oct. 25. 1950 BID ,5, VOL

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Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a pad to be used for scoring gains and losses in playing a card game- While the invention can be used in any game, in the present specification it is described as applied to a bridge score pad. Under the rules of contract bridge, partners who have made a game are considered "vulnerable and in the scoring of the play any under tricks, or tricks by which they are set are reckoned at a higher rate if they have won a game and become vulnerable.

An objection that some persons raise against the game of bridge is that many arguments occur as to What the final bid was on a hand just played; whether the bid was doubled, or doubled and re-doubled, and so forth. These diificulties are aggravated if the players indulge in what is called conversational bridge.

Bridge is one of those games in which the scoring depends upon occurrences immediately related to the play of a certain hand. Also, for example, not only upon whether the players who are playing the hand are vulnerable or not, but also upon whether the contract was fulfilled. If it was not, the penalties are severe, and are increased if the bid was doubled, or re-doubled.

In canasta also the scoring is complicated and depends upon the total score already achieved by a player, or a pair of partners.

In bridge much of the information related to the playing of a certain bid or hand is of passing interest, but is often a matter of disagreement, sometimes actually breaking up long standing friendships.

One of the objects of this invention is to produce a score pad for card games, having features that particularly adapt it for the entry of items thevalue of which depend upon the temporary conditions in bridge such as are set up by the players, and which exist when the play of the hand begins.

Another object of the invention is to produce a pad having spaces or boxes for receiving temporary entries, some of which are of passing'interest; also to provide such a pad with special means preferably limited to those spaces ,or boxes for quickly eliminating the temporary entries; for example, entries that indicate Whether certain partners are vulnerable or not; also to provide such a pad on which information of temporary interest will be conspicuously displayed, thereby avoiding the necessity for players located across the table from the scorer, to scrutinize carefully the entries of the games won that have been entered below the line that dividesthe game score in tricks from the honor, bonus, and penalty scores above that line.

Another object of theinvention is to improve the general construction of a scoring pad for a card game.

Further objects of this invention will appear in the following description and drawing.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinationof parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efiicient scoring pad.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan of a bridge score pad illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the upper portion of the pad further illustrating its construction.

Figure 3 is a plan of the upper portion of one of the sheets of the pad.

- Figure 4 is a Sid-e elevation of one of the pads of my invention set up in a holder that maintains it in a more or less upright position to enable the scoring and characters written upon the pad to be easily distinguished and read by the players at the table.

Figure 5 is a rear elevation of the pad and holder illustrated in Figure 4.

In practicing the invention I provide a book or pad I, composed of superposed sheets 2 of paper. These superposed sheets are preferably connected together at their upper ends by a binder strip 3 that may be attached in place by a suitable adhesive.

Preferably at a point near the upper end of the pad the sheets 2 are provided with aligned transverse score lines 4 (see Figures 2 and 3), at which their lower portions may be detached.

When the scoring on the top sheet 2a of the complete pad, or partially used pad, is to be removed, it should be torn oil at its score line 4, and after a few of these sheets have been removed the upper end of the pad body becomes substantially a block form head 5 composed of the stubs of the removed sheets. In other words, the partially used pad will have substantially the appearance indicated in Figure 2.

Just below the tearing line 4 a horizontal head line 6 on each sheet is provided, carrying the head line legends We and They. These are located between the head line legends Memo. At the right the legend Dealer is placed. The body of each sheet is provided with vertical ruled lines indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. As illustrated these ruled lines extend plastic.

all the way to the bottom edge 8 of the pad, and divide the pad transversely into a series of columns including two main columns 9 and it under the head lines We and They. The columns 9 and 50 are divided in two by the usual accentuated horizontal line H; the space below being used for entries of scores toward Game while the space above the line H is for the entry of items suc'hnas honors, bonuses, and penalties-etc. The Memo columns 52 on the body of "the pad at each side receive entries of scoring acquired from sets or over-tricks, charged against, or credited to, the players designated as We or They; and the column 3 at the extreme right is for indicating the succession of dealers.

This column 13 is used .for .entries .to..indicate who the dealer is when each deal is about to be made. Each dealer is not indicated by name but by an initial indicating his position at the .table withnrespect to the points'o'f the compass.

The-succession of deals are indicated vfrom the top line downward, for example the letters N and E indicate that twosdeals have :occurred:

North dealt first, and then East dealt.

The pad alsoincludes means at'the upper end for makingtemporary entries to show the relation of the .players on everyideal, for example, the contract resulting from the bidding of the hand, which :pair of partners is playing the thand, :and "which partners are vulnerable.

:Boxesfor other entries .are provided to indicate whether the bid Was doubled crre-doubled.

In order to accomplish this I prefer to'provide .anattachable clip t .(see Figures 1 and 2) which .iszpreierahly formed oftransparent or translucentmaterial suchas clear cellophane or thin This .clip includes an upper portion I6 and a bottom portion 5'! the former of which ;;lies;superposedxon the block'portion of the pad.

These two parts It and ii. arenconnected integrallybya .backportion 18 'from'which they pro- *ject laterally.

The upperflange i5 is flexible enough-to en- :able a pointed instrument like a stylus or pencil applied to it to impress the sheetbelow it. The lower face of the flange l6-does not liedirectly :against the upper face of the block" 5,-but' upon an impression fiapi il that is interposedbetwecn it and a base flap 233. The impression flap is thin and flexible.

The base flap 20 presents adark slightly tacky upper face. This face should "be tacky enough when the cover flange is written upon. Theadherence occurs along the line impressed by the stylus or pencil. The coverflange'lfi preferably has a glossy surface so that a pencil will 'not make any conspicuous mark upon it. But the pencil point will press the upper flange down against the impression 'fiap'a-nd cause it to adhere to the base'fiap alongany'line scribed by 'thepencil point. In this way entries can'be made and displayed whichare (quite legible as long as'the impression flap is adhering to the base flap. Material suitable to be used'for'the l'fiove'r the two end flaps 2 lb and21c. vertical "lines 24 "divide the .arearof theanain fiap 2| into four areas or boxes; and over each of the two end boxes the word Bid appears. The one on the left corresponds to the We playare and the one on the right is allotted to the They partners.

In Figure l the They players are supposed to have won a game that has been scored as 100 in column l0 below the dividing line H so this is indicated by :the V written on'fiap Me. In thathand the bidding partner held four aces which is scored 150 just above line H with an entered in their Memo column to indicate that-this occurred on Norths deal.

The second deal has been made as indicated by the E in the second line under the caption .fDealer. .It isassumed that in bidding on the second hand they bid four spades; this is in d-ioated-by the entry 48 on the main flap under their Bid caption. We doubled that bid, which is. indicated by the D written in box 25a. And They redoubled, which is .indicatedibyzthe .R written in the same box. The ,partners They are vulnerable.

In playing this hand with that seteup .it is assumed that They were set two tricks. Computed on the scoring used today this wouldgive 200 for the first trick, on account of thetdouble and 300 for the next trick. .As the bid wastredoubled this gives We i000 that 'isrscoredpas indicated in the We column above the line H.

After this score is entered, the main flap 2! is lifted with the impression "flap 19 under it 'to'enableit to adhere-to the impression flap l9 above on horizontal line, and .above this line there are two legends Vul; printed. on the flange which eliminates all the entries except the V .at the right, which entry is left there until the end of the rubber. In'this connection it should be understood that the'slits123'pass down through the impression flap !9 :so as to divide'it into sections.

Overtricks are scored, of course, in the"-Memo columns above'the line i I, an "O-being-placed :in these columns to indicate overtricks Ii desired, in order'to enable the clip 'l5'to :hold itself securely to the upper end of the pad, itsbottom flange may be provided with an integral fin I'm that is connected by a shank llb to 110116 end of the bottom flange ll. I'Ihis fin lla is parallel with the bottom flange so as to-lie 5 somewhere between the sheets of the block. The clip should be applied to the pad by a lateral .:movement, and when applying it the fin can :be shoved up slightly so that it will exert some downward pressure on the sheets of the block 5 caught between 'it -and the bottom flange II.

If desired, the impression'fiap l9 maybemade -as a flap integral with the binder strip 3 and the flap treated with any suitable dry gum that when :dry, will be sumciently tacky to enable it to function properly, in co-operating with the base flap 20.

It is obvious that instead of printing the-header legends 'vulfetc. on the upper flange !6 of'the clip-they could be printed on the upper face of the pad adjacent its upper edge. This is on account of the fact that the upper flange iii; of

the clip is of clear'material.

5 cause the penalties are greater for setting tricks. As indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the pad has the usual card board back |5a which has two horizontal slits in it to form an integral strap l5b through which a long tongue 26 can be projected up from a base 21 with which it can be integrally connected.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a clip to be attached to the head of a score pad having vertical columns to receive the players scores, said clip having means including a translucent cover sheet enabling writing made with a stylus to appear below the translucent sheet and having a plurality of separate flaps adjacent respectively to said columns, capable of being independently lifted, a co-operating sheet below each of said flaps functioning when the cover sheet is written upon with a stylus, to receive and display temporary entries indicating conditions affecting the scores to be given to the respective players; each 2. As a new article of manufacture, a clip to be attached to the head of a contract bridge scoring pad having a pair of scoring columns, said clip including a translucent sheet having transversely disposed separate flaps capable of being independently lifted and located laterally with respect to each other, and also including cooperating sheets below the translucent flaps, said flaps and co-operating sheets functioning respectively when written upon by a stylus to receive and display temporary entries indicating facts affecting the scores to be awarded the players in the columns corresponding to the said flaps, each flap functioning when raised to eliminate the entries at that flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,019,070 Mecklem Mar. 5, 1912 1,138,636 Davis May 11, 1915 1,810,951 Eisenberg June 23, 1931 2,074,855 Paasche Mar. 23, 1937 2,198,347 Mitnitzky Apr. 23, 1940 

